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Her name is Meetsa, and some well-timed cries from her cage at a Richmond animal shelter helped earn her the title of the one-millionth adoption from the B.C. SPCA. The 11-week-old grey tabby kitten went to her new home in South Vancouver Wednesday, amid a celebration by SPCA staff and animal lovers alike.

The founder of the Paws For Hope Animal Foundation is calling for government regulation of animal adoption groups that are bringing dogs into B.C. from U.S. animal shelters. “We are having large and unstable dogs being brought over the border and placed with families with no temperament testing being done or any attempt to match the dog with its adoptive family,” said Kathy Powelson.

An investigation is underway into allegations that an Elkford man captured and later killed two pet dogs that got into his yard and killed some chickens. According to a Facebook post by the dogs’ owner, the dogs were shot despite pleas from another neighbour to spare them.

The B.C. SPCA is considering changing its policy to allow branches to take in out-of-province dogs for adoption, according to a leaked internal document. The document outlines an out-of-province transfer protocol that lets SPCA branches with excess capacity accept dogs from elsewhere in Canada or the U.S. under specific conditions. It was met with criticism by some animal welfare groups, concerned the SPCA is overstepping its mandate.

Continuing hot, dry weather is expected to bring more wildfires to British Columbia and increase the size of four existing major blazes. The province has put extra firefighters on standby and requested help from Ontario to assist in the already 53 fires burning in the province.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Metro Vancouver, as the region gets hit with its first heat wave of the summer.
The statement, posted Saturday, said the highest temperatures of hot spell are expected today and Sunday for coastal B.C., with highs approaching or exceeding 32 degrees C inland.

Surrey council’s decision to allow bylaw enforcement officers to issue $500 fines to dog owners who leave their pets in hot vehicles or loose in the back of a pickup truck will encourage owners to be more careful with them, says BC SPCA official Lorie Chortyk. “We definitely support anything that will encourage owners to seriously think about this issue. We get hundreds of calls each summer to rescue dogs in distress who have been left in hot cars,” said Chortyk.

Increased competition for charity dollars, a decrease in corporate donations and an increasing trend toward online giving to specific causes have resulted in a drop in donations to the United Way of the Lower Mainland, says the organization’s CEO and president Michael McKnight. “There are a number of factors that are affecting donations. For one thing, the Lower Mainland is one of the most expensive places in the world to live and people make donations out of discretionary income. If there’s less (discretionary income), there will be less donations,” said McKnight.

The overabundance of cats in B.C. has reached crisis proportions, according to SPCA officials who say they are taking in about 13,000 abandoned cats and kittens every year. B.C. SPCA spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk said the exploding homeless feline population is now the biggest animal issue in the province, and solving the problem will require a huge attitude shift.

The B.C. SPCA is applauding a move by an online classifieds magazine to ban private pet sales in a bid to combat sales of banned and exotic animals, such as African Rock Pythons and other dangerous reptiles.

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